Chocolate Underground 04: Chocolate Underground Pah-tee!

it's code-crackin' time

Huntly and Smudger sneak out of their homes in the middle of the night and go to the abandoned mine shaft. Apparently, Huntly has figured out a way to crack the code -- with the help of Columbus and the Mayans, of course (long story!).

Eventually, the clue leads them to a tunnel leading up to a door with the sign that says: "KEEP OUT." Of course, we all know that the phrase "keep out" really means "interesting stuff happening, come in!"
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So Huntly and Smudger accept the invitation and find themselves in a room set as if in a party. The tables are literally HEAPED with chocolates and sweets. The Good For You Party is going to get diabetes when they see this room, I'm sure.

we has chocolate. u want? ^.^

It turns out that Huntly and Smudger know the kid (Dave), whose father is running this underground chocolate shop. What's more, it seems they're not the only one who figured out the code either. A few people have found their way in this secret shop.
Huntly and Smudger are introduced to someone (I forgot his name -_-) who is quick to take credit for coming up with the underground shop. And then the boys get their first taste of homemade chocolate since the Good For You Party won the elections. The chocolate is supposed to be very, extremely, orgasmically heavenly, so much so that both kids see their lives flash before them after just one bite. @.0

But just when they think everything is fine and great from then on, because...ha, CHOCOLATES! The Cacao group has arrived. What will happen next?

COMMENTS:

What to say really, other than that I'm still enjoying this show. I think it helps that each episode is only about five minutes short. With less time to overdevelop inconsequential stuff, the show can focus more on the key points that this show is trying to make: the eventual consequence of censorship and suppression.

That said, I think it's hilarious how the "underground chocolate group" have taken extreme steps to hide their horde from government. Heck, even the idea of an underground chocolate group is hilarious. I mean, it's even literally underground. Even the fact that the boys had to go through so much trouble just finding them is...extreme. Not bad. Just extreme.

So that's what it's like. The chocolates could very well stand for something else entirely.

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Chocolate Underground 02 & 03: Rumor has it

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Picking up from the previous episode, Louise's (funny, I've been referring to her as Lucy...^.^) Grandma is sad because she is no longer allowed to sell chocolates at her sweets shop and has to sell crappy health food instead. She blames herself and all the other adults in the series for not voting in the previous election, as a result of which the Good For You Party won (that's non sequitur, by the way, if there ever was one).

Louise then laments about not having any chocolates for Valentine's Day. At the mention of the event, our boys are instantly alert as they hurriedly press Louise to tell them to whom she was planning to give Valentine's Day chocolates. Louise deflects their question by telling them about a rumor going around: chocolates are being bootlegged! Naturally, Huntly and Smudger (so that's their name!) are very interested in this and so they decide to investigate.

Once at the abandoned mine shaft, however, they find nothing but a few old, dilapidated vehicles and a foil that smell, amazingly enough, like chocolates! Then they see a huge mound with an inscription that refers to treasure of the ancient Mayan civilization and Christopher Columbus. The two seem to think this is a code that would lead them to the chocolates.

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That night, Huntly and Smudger go to their respective homes. We find out that Smudger's Dad is a baker who, like probably every baker in the series, is depressed because he can't bake any more delicious bread and instead has to make do with healthy, hard-as-rocks alternatives based on the Good For You Party's special recipe. Smudger then tells his little sister about the secret he and Huntly found.

Meanwhile, Huntly's Mom is serving him healthy bread pudding with artificial sweeteners. The unappetizing recipe is due to the fact that even sugar, vanilla and honey are banned. We find out that Huntly's Dad is six feet under the ground and that he is a fussy eater. Huntly's Mom is very sad about the state of her cooking.

The next morning, Huntly and Smudger are at the library digging up some dirt about Christopher Columbus and the ancient Mayan civilization. They find out that among the things that Columbus brought back from the New World was cocoa beans! At the mention of the sacrilegious word, Frankie and Myrtle, two classmates who are apparently very serious about health, come over and interrogate them about it. Myrtle comments that she can understand Huntly being at the library but Smudger is a different matter. Frankie also notes that the two seem too curious for their own good.

In another meanwhile, the long-haired dude from Episode 01 receives information about the group that's been smuggling chocolates.

COMMENTS:

For some people, this show is a bit over-the-top and they're right actually. But the aim is, in fact, to exaggerate in order to better get the point across. Library War does this, too.

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Chocolate Underground First Impression: Super Healthy

The Good For You Party has just won the elections and their rise into power means the end of chocolates. Chocolates? Why chocolates? Because the Good For You Party has just passed a new health act that prohibits the eating, selling and producing of chocolates and other products containing this diabolical ingredient.

The episode begins with an entire SWAT team, complete with helicopter back-up, radio-monitoring and a gigantic toaster robot with inhuman claws, getting ready into action. The culprits? A particularly heinous couple caught in the act of eating these diabolical food products! In less than a minute, their house is torn apart by the humongous toaster with red-blinking light for eyes as a man, with long, shampoo-commercial hair, drops down through a rope from the helicopter and proceeds to give them a lecture about the evils of chocolates.

The next day, two kids (whose names I've forgotten) are walking down the street, discussing the sad state to which their civilization has come to. Just then, a trailer van promoting the credo of the Good For You Party passes by: NO TO CHOCOLATES! YES TO HEALTH!

Meanwhile, at the Bubby Sweet Shop, Lucia is watching -- or rather, barely tolerating -- the same super healthy commercial on TV. Her mother wisely suggests that she should just turn the TV off. Why, you, witless woman! Did you think the Good For You Party never thought of that? They are after all the bringer of Health and Justice! And apparently, a transmitter too that helped them monitor the citizens viewing habits.

Lucia, however -- bless her soul -- decides that she can't take it anymore. So she does the only sane thing anyone can be expected to do in that situation. She tries to restrain the hapless television by putting a rope around it and some sheets. And this is the scene that "Charlie" and his sidekick find when they enter the Bubby Sweet Shop.

It seems the boys have a cute little crush on wild-child Lucia. They are there at the shop on the pretext of buying sweets. Of course, the new sweets recommended by the Good For You Party do not even remotely taste like sweets, so you have to admire their tenacity.

And that, my dears, is Chocolate Underground at first blush. See you in the next ep!

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COMMENTS:

Well, it certainly has echoes of Library War. The Orwellian totalitarian government is again brought into focus. Only this time, instead of books, they're attacking chocolates. I know. Why would anyone ban chocolates, right? Why, it's positively inhuman! Which, I think, is the point.

Chocolate Underground is based on a novel by British author, Alex Shearer. The original novel is called Bootleg. Apparently, it has been adapted as a TV series which ran in BBC. Alex Shearer doesn't seem to be a hugely popular writer. That is, if you base a writer's popularity by the number of words in his Wikipedia entry. As a matter of fact, there is no Wikipedia entry for his name. Sad.

But it's a good thing though that someone thought it right to adapt his idea into anime form. Chocolate Underground has all the prettiness of Production I.G. It even has similar character designs as Library War. But let's hope, since it's primarily a children's show (with children as protagonists), it's not that ridiculous because sure, you can expect things to be a little exaggerated and underrated in a children's show.

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Summer 2008 Anime Previews

A new list to drive me to distraction. Thanks to Crunchyroll for their very handy list. I can't expect myself to watch all these shows, but the following titles are the ones that looked interesting at first blush.

I have to say that when it comes to previews, the promotional poster gets me. I watch anime purely for aesthetic purposes, so naturally, I want to watch shows that have pretty-looking designs and art. Plot usually comes later.

Another thing, when I do make lists like this, it doesn't mean I am going to follow them up. I might write a first impressions post about a show only to drop it one episode later. Or I might not deem a show worth more than one line.

My blogging style is erratic, but I try to follow some imaginary schedule: I blog once every two days. That said, on to the LIST OF DOOM!

TITLE: Blade of the Immortal
EPISODES: unknown
GENRE: action, supernatural, samurai, swords, fantasy, historical
AIR DATE: 07.13.2008
LINKS: ANN, Promo Clip, Trailer, Wikipedia
SUMMARY:
Manji is a violent, ruthless samurai, tasked with killing 1,000 evil men in order to lift a curse that has been placed upon him by the nun, Yobikuni.

COMMENTS: It's not really as bland as it sounds. It's an adaptation of a manga that I have been wanting to read but never got around to reading. A world-weary warrior cleansing the world of evil in order to cleanse his own immortal soul (and to die in the process). It should be interesting.

TITLE: Chocolate Underground (OVA)
EPISODES: unknown
GENRE: fantasy, drama, adventure, adaptation
AIR DATE: 2008
LINKS: ANN
SUMMARY:
The Good For You Party has banned chocolates and mandated fruits and vegetables for daily consumption. What?! No chocolates?? Good thing two whip-smart 13-year-olds found a stash of cocoa and sugar. With this awesome discovery, the two run an underground chocolate factory in blatant disregard of the laws of the state. Adapted from Bootleg, a novel by Alex Shearer.

COMMENTS: Chocolates, dude! Come on! Plus, the poster looked really cute, with all the shiny prettiness of Production I.G.

TITLE: Maria-sama Ga Miteru 4th season
EPISODES: unknown
GENRE: drama, romance, shoujo-ai, school, slice of life
AIR DATE: 2008
LINKS: ANN, Wikipedia
SUMMARY: A year has passed since Yuki first became acquainted with the Roses of Lillian Academy. Now a part of the inner circle of the Roses, Yuki tries to unravel and understand her relationship of mutual love with Sachiko, her "soeur" as well as those of her friends.

COMMENTS: Because I've seen the first and second season. *shrug*

TITLE: The Sky Crawlers (movie)
EPISODES: 1
GENRE: action, supernatural, future, adventure, drama, war
AIR DATE: 08.02.2008
LINKS: ANN, Production I.G. Official (English), Trailer 1, Trailer 2
SUMMARY:
The long-awaited world peace has come but people are still demanding war. To assuage their thirst for destruction, several companies launch a "war for show" program, where pubescent fighter pilots fight deadly air battles over Europe, not for one country but for the company that sponsored them. Welcome to the future.

COMMENTS: Production I.G. and it's a movie, so quality is tops. And the premise has enough weirdness in it to sustain my interest.

TITLE: Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo (The Strange Case Files of Yakushiji Ryouko or Ryouko's Case Files)
EPISODES: 12
GENRE: action, supernatural, fantasy, mystery, crime
AIR DATE: 07.2008
LINKS: ANN, Trailer
SUMMARY:
27-year-old Yakushiji Ryouko is a talented investigator who graduated from Tokyo University's elite Department of Law. Her line of work has her dealing not with supernatural beings but also with her rival, Muromachi Yukiko, an equally talented and beautiful police investigator.

COMMENTS: Mystery! And only 12 episodes. My cup of tea.

TITLE: Ultraviolet: Code 044
EPISODES: 12
GENRE: action, fantasy, adventure
AIR DATE: 07.01.2008
LINKS: ANN, Trailer, Wikipedia (2006 Film)
SUMMARY:
Based on the film Ultraviolet, which in turn used the basic premise of John Cassavete's 1980 cult classic, Gloria, "Code 044" is a blood-borne, fighting a guerrilla war against a totalitarian government dictatorship.

COMMENTS: I watched the movie, didn't understand half of it, but got kicks out of Milla Jovovich riding motorcycles down the frickin' sides of skyscrapers and generally kicking ass. Plus, the anime is by Madhouse, so there.

TITLE: World Destruction
EPISODES: unknown
GENRE: action, supernatural, fantasy, war
AIR DATE: 07.2008
LINKS: Promo Clip, Trailer, Trailer (English Subtitles)
SUMMARY:
The story revolves around two main characters named Kyrie and Morute who become a part of an organization called “Destruction of the World.

COMMENTS: Uhm. Production I.G.? No idea what's it about really.

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